Fifteen-year-old Francisca already had her mind made up when contacted by wish granters with the Make-A-Wish Foundation^® of Orange County (California). She told the volunteers that she wanted a quinceañera, which is a 15th birthday party that doubles as a passage into womanhood. She also explained that she wanted the ceremony to include her 15-year-old cousin, Yadira, from North Carolina.

With sponsorship from UAW-GM, the wish granters pieced together the chapter’s first quinceañera, with white dresses for Francisca and her seven “damas” (girl attendants), a three-tier cake, uniformed male escorts, food for the guests, and venues for the Mass, photographs, and dinner. A local GM car dealer stepped up to provide two Chevy Suburbans to transport Francisca and her family to the church to begin the ceremony. The dealership’s general sales manager even provided his own Corvette for Francisca and her damas to pose with during photos.

When the special day came, Francisca and Yadira began the all-day event with a Sunday Mass at their family’s church. From there, the cousins and their damas rode in a white limo to an art museum for photos. The Corvette awaited them, and the girls took pictures on and in the sleek black car. Afterwards, the entourage moved on to a performing arts center for the reception party. Photographers and a videographer captured all the evening’s memorable moments, which included a banquet, a ballet performance, and Francisca’s personal waltz with Alex, a cadet in the Santa Ana Police Department Explorers program. Santa Ana’s six cadets stepped in when the U.S. Marine Corps (Francisca’s original choice for ushers) had to prepare for possible deployment.

In a show of generosity, two employees of the GM dealership – Guillermo and Jose – provided rides to the family members at the end of the evening. They also packed up Francisca’s family’s belongings and brought them safely home.